It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Paris in the last half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries went through three major wars, economic and government collapses, and the social upheaval of the Commune. As is often the case in difficult times, the arts thrived.
This week we look at some of the music of this tumultuous time through the works of ten Paris-scene composers from the musical comedy of Offenbach to the grandeur of Vierne -- with some impressionism, retrospection, and eccentricity in-between.
